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Avistar (News - Alert) Communications has received notification from the US Patent and Trademark Office of seven new patent allowances. Specifically relating to technology for video communications, VoIP and instant messaging, these patents will recognize and protect broad claims in areas of real-time communications over the wide area networks that are fundamental to unified communications (UC).

 

According to Wainhouse Research, the UC industry will reach $16.5 billion by 2012. Avistar Communications intends to license its technology and intellectual property (IP) to other vendors. This will help accelerate growth, allow rapid development of industry standards, and foster the development of new applications.

 

Avistar’ seven patents in the United States add to five recent patent additions in Europe. A key driver in Avistar’s growth, the company’s IP portfolio has been

successfully licensed to technology companies, including Tandberg, Polycom, Sony and Radvision (News - Alert) for use in their products. Partnerships with other vendors, including IBM through its Lotus Sametime product, have brought Avistar’s technology into Fortune 500 companies to facilitate enterprise desktop videoconferencing as part of UC.

 

Simon Moss, CEO of Avistar said in a statement that, because of these patents, Avistar is being recognized for its contribution to the mechanics that underpin several key aspects of unified communications. He noted that the new patents will give the company even greater coverage of intellectual property relevant to the UC market.

 

Simon added that the successes of its scientists and developers have given Avistar a powerful ability to deliver enterprise-wide desktop video as part of UC, and have put the company business in a strong position to capitalize on the burgeoning demand for unified communications.

 

Robert Habig, Avistar’s CFO, pointed out that Avistar has had consistent annual growth rates in revenue and income from its licensing activities—exceeding 40 percent since 2004 largely due to their valuable patent portfolio. He emphasized that deploying IP for competitive advantage through its own products, and sharing technology with others through licensing and partnering arrangements, is core to Avistar’s business strategy.